Prince Charming is Overrated Anyway
by wonderwall91
Summary: AU. No Magic. One shot. Emma Swan had done everything she could to ensure that her son had the life she never did growing up. She thought she had done a good job. Henry was a good kid that never got in trouble. Imagine her confusion when his teacher calls her requesting a parent-teacher conference.


**Hello! I have previously written fanfiction for other fandoms but this is my first attempt over here! I thought I would start off with a one shot just to see if I could even manage it. Anyway, I won't continue to ramble on.**

 **Hope it's enjoyable to read! :P**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

* * *

Emma Swan hadn't always been the best person. She had a history that included foster care, a stint in prison, and a teen pregnancy. Of course, as soon as Henry had been born and she had looked into his deep chocolate eyes she knew that she had to get her shit together.

She had spent her youth in and out of different houses all over the New England coast. She really didn't know much about stability. She didn't even know how to live in a place that didn't utilize a month to month lease. Henry, again, had changed all of that. Before her fling with Neal, Henry's absent father, she had known she wasn't mothering material. She knew she never wanted kids…but those damn lines on the pregnancy test had immediately changed her life.

She shook her head and rubbed her temples. She thought she had done everything right. She had worked her way through the rankings at the local police station before being offered a better paying job in the small town of Storybrooke. The crime reports showed that the quaint town was practically…absent of crime. She knew that despite the fact that there would be no excitement on her end that there would be more time for her to spend with her son, as well as the stability that came with a pay raise and a lack of moving around.

Henry had thrived in Storybrooke. He had taken part in literally every single extra-curricular activity that his school had offered…including being a lost boy in the Peter Pan play his school had put on.

So why was his bitch of a teacher requesting a parent-teacher conference with her?

* * *

 _The phone rang and she sighed. She was certain that someone needed a cat to be rescued from a tree or something equally boring. She just wanted to eat her lunch in peace. "Sherriff's Department; how can I help you?" She questioned while tapping her fingers on her metal desk._

" _Sherriff's department?" The rich voice questioned from the other end of the line. Emma's brow raised in confusion. How could someone call her department but sound so confused about who she was speaking to._

" _Yes ma'am," Emma prodded after realizing that whoever she was talking to wasn't going to say anything else._

" _I'm sorry. I was looking for an Emma Swan. The paperwork here must be wrong," the other woman sighed. "Incompetent parents," she heard the lady mutter under her breath. At that point Emma snorted._

" _This is Emma Swan," Emma finally admitted. She had no clue what this lady wanted with her…or who she even was…but she was slightly amused at this point. "What can I do for you? Stray dog?"_

" _No," the woman scoffed. "This is Regina Mills. I'm your son's teacher. I called the house phone listed on this file and no one answered. This was the other number listed on Henry's file."_

" _Is Henry in trouble?" Emma immediately questioned, all humor gone. "Is he hurt?"_

" _No, Mrs. Swan, he is not in trouble and he is fine. I would like you to come by the school, however. I have some things I would like to discuss with you. Can you make it this afternoon? Say, 4:30?"_

" _Uh, sure," Emma replied, completely unaware that the woman had assumed she was married. "What about Henry?" Emma questioned. The line stayed eerily silent. The blonde shut her eyes and tried to ignore the fact that she sounded like an idiot. "I mean; do you want Henry to come with me?"_

" _Of course," Regina Mills, or whoever this lady was, deadpanned as though Emma had asked the dumbest question she'd ever heard._

" _Okay, see you then," Emma spat before hanging up the phone. "Way to go, Swan," she mumbled to herself before taking a bite of her grilled cheese that had been neglected._

* * *

"Hey kid," Emma smiled as Henry walked into her office. "Hey Mary Margaret," Emma added to the brunette that had Henry's hand clasped in her own. The mousy woman was a teacher at Henry's school that Emma had befriended upon moving to Storybrooke.

While she had been granted better hours upon taking the job in the small town, she still had to miss a lot of Henry's school activities. She felt like a shitty person for even having to ask Mary Margaret the next question. "Who is Regina Mills?" At that the smile on the short-haired woman dropped.

"That's my teacher, Ma," Henry quipped before anyone else could answer. He looked at his mom in confusion. "Duh," he added before sticking his tongue out. He giggled when Emma returned the gesture.

"She's a coworker," was the only response that Mary Margaret gave. Emma was good at reading people though. She knew that there was something that the brunette wasn't telling her. Probably because Henry was in the room. She could guess that Regina Mills wasn't a nice person because honestly? Who didn't get along with Mary Margaret?

"Well, thanks for bringing him by," Emma finally changed the subject. She stood up and walked over to Henry. "I hope he didn't give you too much trouble," she added before running her fingers through his hair.

"Ma, stop," he whined. She rolled her eyes. She hated to know what this kid would be like as a teenager.

* * *

"I don't understand what this woman needs to see me about," she muttered under her breath while holding Henry's hand tightly in her own. They crossed the street that lead to Henry's elementary school. "She's probably a miserable old hag that has to take her problems out on children," she added. Henry looked up at her in confusion. "Right, sorry," she said to no one in particular. She hadn't had the best time with her teachers when she had been a student. Maybe that was clouding her judgement here.

"Am I in trouble?" Henry finally questioned once they had made it inside the building. She stopped him from walking any further and then kneeled on the ground so that she would be eye level with him.

"No, baby," she replied before pulling him into a quick embrace. "You're not in trouble," she added. He smiled and then took off towards the end of the hall. Emma quickly stood and chased after him, running into the room he had marched into.

"Henry," the voice that Emma had spoken to on the phone earlier greeted. "How are you?" Emma made the mistake of looking up.

…She didn't know who she had been expecting Henry's teacher to be, but it sure as hell wasn't this lady.

This woman was literally a Greek goddess! From her luscious locks all the way down to her toned calves, this lady was freaking flawless.

"Mom," she vaguely heard a voice. It was distant, almost as though she were in a dream and someone was trying to wake her up. "Mom," the voice yelled. She felt tugging on her arm and nearly fell down.

She blinked a few times and looked around. Oh yeah, parent-teacher conference. This was Henry's teacher? This lady was a teacher?

"Mrs. Swan, if you'll quit standing in the doorway and come in we can get this meeting underway."

"Doorway, yeah, sure," Emma muttered before walking in.

"As I was saying, your son is a brilliant young man-

"You're Henry's teacher?" She found herself interrupting.

"Mooooom," she heard Henry's high pitched voice. That immediately brought her out of her trance. She noticed that Henry's cheeks were tinted pink. Great, she mused. She embarrassed an eight year-old. She decided to avoid the eyes of Henry's teacher and instead looked at the marker board behind the beautiful woman.

"Mrs. Swan, are you alright?" At that Emma's eyes connected with the coffee colored eyes of Henry's teacher.

"Yeah, totally," she replied with a self-deprecating chuckle. "It's just Miss Swan though. I'm not married." She threw up her left hand as though to show that there was no ring on her finger. "Just call me Emma," she mumbled.

"Okay, _Emma_ ," she purred. "Henry, why don't you go get your folder out from your cubby so we can show your mom some of your work?" Henry smiled and eagerly ran into a corner of the room. "As I said earlier, I'm Regina Mills. Your son, well, he's such a joy to work with." For the first time since being in the room Emma saw Regina smile. "He's so gifted and creative. I was hoping that you might consider allowing him to be tested for our gifted program." At that Emma's eyes began to water.

Sure, she had done what she could to help Henry with his homework. She had done everything she could to be the mother she never had. She never really knew if she was doing right by Henry though. She had nothing to go off of. "You think he's gifted?" She whispered. "I'm not smart," she blurted. Regina's head turned to the side. Emma wanted to laugh. The brunette looked like a confused puppy. "I mean, he's…yeah, this is great," she added with a smile. She rubbed the palms of her hands on the denim fabric of her blue jeans.

At this point Henry had made his way back over with a folder. He thrusted it into his teacher's hands and smiled. He looked between the two adults in confusion. "I think my mom likes you," he whispered to Regina. Emma's eyes widened. Henry had clearly not mastered the art of whispering. "She called you a hag earlier," he added.

"Henry," Emma gasped. "He's…that's not…oh God," Emma screeched. Regina had the decency to smile at her son before looking at Emma.

"I've been called much worse, dear. Anyway, Henry, why don't you go to the bookshelf and pick out a book to read," Regina suggested while tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ears. His eyes lit up before he raced over to the bookshelf in question. Emma snorted when she saw her son pick the biggest book. He always was an overachiever.

"I am so sorry," Emma finally whispered. Regina rolled her eyes before sitting down at her desk. Emma stood awkwardly, waiting for something to happen. She really hoped that she hadn't caused this woman to dislike her child now. She had been saying such nice things about him before!

"Sit, Miss Swan," she instructed. Emma looked around the room and sighed. She grabbed one of the small little chairs and brought it to the front of Regina's desk. She felt beneath this lady. Probably because she was practically seated on the floor while this woman was perched upon a throne. The lady did look like she was fit to be a queen though. "Despite your comments, I still think Henry has the potential for great things. You've clearly managed to do well by him." Emma knew that she had left out the whole "despite the fact that you're an idiot."

"Thank you," Emma replied. "I really didn't call you a hag…well, not you exactly. You clearly aren't a hag," she stated while looking the brunette over. She wondered how the woman had gotten that scar above her plump lips.

The rest of the meeting managed to pass by without much embarrassment on Emma's end. Henry clearly loved his teacher and his teacher loved him. She was proud that somehow despite all of her shortcomings that Henry had been able to do well. He was smart. Something she never was. He was kind. He was the best kid in the world. She knew that much. She and Henry had made it to Regina's door before Henry piped up again.

"Do you have a Prince Charming?" He questioned. Emma groaned. This kid. Regina smiled kindly and shook her head before looking at Emma and holding her left hand up, much like she had earlier. "My mom isn't a prince," he added before looking at her, "she's a knight. But she's just as good as a prince." Emma smiled at her son before pushing him out the door.

"Sorry about him," Emma finally stated. "Thanks for this. I'm really glad that someone else sees what I've always seen in him." Regina grabbed a pen and scrawled something down on a piece of paper before walking over.

"See you tomorrow, Henry," she called out to the boy fidgeting in the hallways. "This is for you, Miss Swan." She placed the neatly folded paper into Emma's hands before pushing her out of the doorway, much like Emma had done to Henry.

Emma eyed the paper before jogging to catch up with her son who had already made his way up to the front of the school. "Can we go to Granny's for some hot chocolate?" Henry questioned. Emma nodded absent-mindedly before unfolding the paper. "What's that?"

"Just something Ms. Mills gave me," she replied. She scanned over the paper before her eyes lit up.

 _I much prefer a knight over a prince or princess any day. Call me?_

Emma immediately pulled her cell phone out and plugged the phone number that was attached into her contacts.

"Ma, come on," Henry whined.

"I'm coming," she shouted with mock annoyance. The huge smile on her face totally gave her away though.


End file.
